1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to arcade games, and more particularly to crane-type arcade games in which a player controls a mechanical apparatus to pick up and dispense offered prizes.
2. Background of the Related Art
Crane-type or "claw machine" arcade games are popular amusement devices often provided in game arcades, stores, or other public places. In these types of games, prize objects are provided within a closed housing and are viewable by a player through transparent glass or the like. Upon the insertion of a coin or other monetary input into the game, the player controls a mechanical claw or other grasping implement with controls such as a joystick, buttons, or toggle switch. Typically, the claw is provided above the prize objects and the player can change the position of the claw over the prizes. The claw is lowered towards the prizes upon activation by either a controller such as a computer or the player, depending on the particular embodiment. The claw is either automatically opened when it reaches the level of the prizes or is opened under the player's control. After a predetermined amount of time, the claw is automatically elevated. The claw may or may not be able to grasp a prize and hold onto the prize as the claw is raised. The controller then moves the claw over to a dispensing container and opens the claw, allowing the prize (if any is held) to drop into the dispensing chute and to be guided through the dispenser to an opening accessible to the player. In a common implementation, a sensor within the dispenser detects whether a prize has been won by the player. After the claw is opened over the dispenser, the controller moves the claw to its original starting position and waits for another insertion of the coin (unless the player is provided with multiple tries).
The prizes that the operator of a claw-type crane game can provide in the game are usually limited in selection. Since the claw must surround an object to be able to pick it up, most prizes in claw-type crane games have been limited to large stuffed dolls or other soft, rough-surfaced merchandise that can be surrounded and grabbed by the claw fingers and raised from the supporting surface. Usually, flat, smooth or thin objects are not able to be picked up and held by the claw. However, a large number of flat, smooth, and thin objects are desirable to used as prizes in a crane-type game, such as smooth-surfaced spheres or eggshell containers, boxes, gumballs, cups, bulbs, Christmas ornaments, trading cards, jewelry, etc. Players desire to win these types of items and operators desire to provide them; however, the standard claw type mechanism cannot be used to pick them up.
One solution to the inability of claw-type cranes to pick up these objects is to provide a different type of pick-up device. One type of device that is used is a vacuum device that uses air suction to grab and hold an object. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,513,772 of Glaser, a vacuum embodiment of a crane pick-up game is disclosed in which a vacuum motor is suspended from a string and concealed by a facade or enclosure. The player may move the motor and lower the motor towards a field of prizes similarly to the claw in claw-type crane games. A spinning fan within the motor creates a suction force which is used to pick up and hold prizes. An orifice with a screen is used to prevent items from being sucked into the orifice. Prizes captured and held by the suction are dispensed to the player through a dispenser.
The Glaser vacuum device can pick up some objects which cannot be picked up and held by prior claw-type crane games. However, the Glaser device has many drawbacks. The vacuum motor used by Glaser is a large, bulky device. Since this motor must be concealed to add to the aesthetic appeal of the game, a large cover or enclosure is placed over the motor, which obscures the orifice on the device where prizes are captured by the air suction. This prevents the player from positioning the suction orifice with any great accuracy to pick up a prize, thus, decreasing the skill element of the game.
In addition, the vacuum motor used by Glaser is a high powered, heavy, noisy, and inefficient device. Since the vacuum motor creates large centrifugal forces when it is powered, the motor tends to rotate as it is suspended on the string. To prevent this, a telescoping rod is attached to a side of the device to prevent the spinning. The rod adds further complexity and expense to the unit. Also, the large weight of the motor and enclosure can be difficult to lift and adds to the weight carried and moved by the positioning motors, thus requiring that prizes of smaller weight be provided to decrease the total carried weight. Furthermore, the screen suction orifice of Glaser is inefficient at creating suction, thus requiring the high suction force to grab any objects.
Also, the Glaser device only detects prizes that have been dispensed through the dispensing chute to the player. Thus, the game does not detect whether a prize has been picked up until the crane motor is moved over to the dispenser opening and the suction turned off so that the prize can drop into the opening. If no prize is then detected in the dispenser, the player must control the motor to move back over to the field of prizes to continue the process of picking up a prize, which causes inefficient waste of time and power.